Rewarding research

Congratulations to Nobel winner

C ongratulations to David J. Wineland on joining a prestigious group of scientists around the world, including a handful in Boulder, as a Nobel prize winner.

The physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Colorado in Boulder learned this week that he had won 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics along with Serge Haroche of France.

Wineland joins Nobel laureates Tom R. Cech of CU (1989); William D. Phillips of NIST (1997); Carl E. Wieman of CU and Eric A. Cornell of NIST (2001); John (Jan) L. Hall of CU and NIST (2005); and a group of research scientists from CU who shared the 2007 peace prize with former Vice President Al Gore.

It's certainly great news for Wineland, the federal lab and the university, which continue to build on their successful track records in scientific research.

We loved Wineland's humble and cheerful demeanor at being named a winner, which included this gem: He explained it was the research, not the promise of reward, that drives him. But sure, he said, he thought about awards, "even as a kid."

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